Author Archive for Matt Clemons – Page 14

Web Based Summer Math Tutorial

Admitted applicants who have paid the deposit and confirmed enrollment for this fall will soon receive information on a summer math tutorial.   The first year at SIPA is filled with required quantitative courses.  Economics, quantitative analysis, and financial management are building blocks in effective policy making and execution.

The purpose of the summer math tutorial is to give students a jump start on the first year curriculum.  The summer math tutorial will also help prepare students for a math quiz that will be administered during orientation to help make class placement decisions.  Many of our admitted applicants have not sat in a classroom in years and the tutorial is meant to knock some of the mental rust off.  Also of note is that to qualify for second year fellowship consideration, students must have a GPA of 3.4 at SIPA.

While the summer math tutorial is highly recommended for all admitted MIA and MPA students, it is not a requirement.  It will be administered online so no matter where you are in the world, as long as you have an Internet connection, you will be able to participate.

So if you have been admitted and paid a deposit, hang tight for a little while longer and information on the summer tutorial will be sent to you via email, posted on the Welcome Page, and posted on this blog soon.  We will also be posting some of the syllabi used in our core courses this past year to give you an idea of what you might expect from the core curriculum.

Graduation 2011

I really enjoyed the 2011 edition of the SIPA graduation ceremony.  After being held inside for several years the ceremony this year was held outside.  Everyone was nervous all week because the weather forecast was foreboding, however the rain held off and and no one had to get wet.

Tents were set up so we were not worried too much about the ceremony itself, but the reception area was not entirely covered.  As it turns out, we had nothing to worry about.  When I took this picture I was standing on the steps of . . .

. . . Low Library . . .

. . . which is where the graduates assembled prior to the ceremony.

Kofi Annan addressed the graduates and we are working on getting his speech on line.  When it is ready it will appear on this blog.

SIPA graduates will return to the main quad for the University Commencement on Wednesday.  Congratulations to the class of 2011!

 

Message Board – Alive and Kicking

This is a reminder to new students that the message board referenced on the welcome page is, and will continue to be, a great resource to reference.  Relevant questions and inquiries continue to roll in to our email box, and there is a plethora of information on the message board that relates to most of the inquiries.

Content on the message board is driven by newly admitted students and current students.  Therefore most of the content is very practical.  Specific administrative questions can continue to be emailed to our office, however if you are looking for information relevant to the student experience I highly recommend using the message board as a resource and communication tool.

For example, many new students are emailing us about housing.  A enterprising new student actually created a Google Document that everyone has access to for people seeking roommates.  It does not get much more practical than that.  If you wish to view the document, open the Housing folder in the message board and view the thread labeled, “SIPA 1st years looking for roommates.”

Do note that the last day of classes at SIPA was May 2nd and finals will finish up today, May 13th.  Therefore current student participation is likely to slow down, but do not let that keep all the new students from keeping the message board active.  Instructions for logging in to the message board are included on the Welcome Page.  Welcome Page log in information is in your admission letter.

 

Summer Reading – Part 3

I mentioned earlier this week that I was interested in getting incoming students to connect via the Web.  One aspect of this is Facebook and I did indeed get a response letting me know that a Facebook Group is out there for you to join.  Here is what you need to know to join if you are an incoming student and you have a Facebook account:

To request to join the Facebook  group Columbia SIPA- MPA MIA MDP 2011, log in to Facebook and enter the group name is the search bar.  The group will then appear for you to click on.   In order to guarantee the privacy of the group, find the administrator (Maria Cecilia Ramirez) and send her a private message with the user name and password you use to access SIPA Welcome Page – hint, this information is listed in your admission letter.

We also received our first few submissions of ways to connect/read outside of the world of Facebook.  Once again, if you are an incoming student that will be starting classes in September and want to give people the ability to read or follow you, send an email with your name, degree program, and blog/Twitter/web addresses where you can be found to [email protected] with the title – Summer Reading.

Submitted Follow Information

Pablo Alfaro (Incoming MPA) Twitter Account: @pfalfaro (in Spanish)

Rafael Merchan (Incoming MPA-DP) Blog:  http://agdes.blogspot.com/

Summer Reading – Part 2

On Monday I posted some resources for possible summer reading.  The resources revolved around faculty, alumni, and current student writings posted on the web.  I was riding my bike to work this morning and got the idea that it would be fun to do a similar thing for those joining us in the fall.  I know from reading applications that many admitted applicants have a web or digital presence that others might be interested in.

So the point of this entry is to solicit reading resources from recently admitted students.  This could also turn into a great way to get to know those you will be taking classes with in the fall.  Another way is to see pictures from those you will be joining and the summer photo series is also on the horizon so stay tuned for details.

If you Tweet, Blog, write for a web site or can be followed in some way on the web and wish to share links, Twitter names, etc. with fellow incoming students, we want to hear from you. If you are an incoming student that will be starting classes in September and want to give people the ability to read or follow you, send an email with the following to [email protected] with the title – Summer Reading.

  • Your full name
  • Your degree program (MIA, MPA, or MPA-DP)
  • Any of the following – Twitter account, Blog address, links where you have been published, web sites you champion or support

The information you submit will be posted on this blog for public consumption.

Another avenue is of course Facebook (but Facebook cannot be accessed by everyone) and it is likely that a Facebook page has already been started by some incoming student.  If a Facebook page has indeed been created, someone please send us an email letting us know and I will post to the blog for easy consumption.  An email can be sent to [email protected] with the title “Facebook” and you can include the group name for us to pass on.

 

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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